Key Highlights
- Heat protection and lower styling temperatures prevent colour fade and damage.
- Purple shampoo controls brassiness and keeps cool-toned highlights looking fresh.
- Deep conditioning treatments maintain moisture balance in highlighted hair.
- Proper post-swim care protects highlights from chlorine and saltwater damage.
- Strategic root touch-ups extend the time between full salon appointments.
Introduction
Getting gorgeous highlights at a hair salon in Singapore is exciting, but keeping them looking salon-fresh weeks later? That’s where the real challenge begins. Your highlights didn’t come cheap, and watching them turn brassy or dull between appointments feels like watching money literally wash down the drain.
The good news is that maintaining vibrant highlights doesn’t require professional intervention every fortnight. With the right approach, you can keep your colour looking intentional and fresh until your next scheduled visit. Here’s what actually works.
Why Highlights Fade
Highlights are essentially controlled damage to your hair shaft. When you walk out of a hair salon in Singapore with freshly done highlights, those lighter sections are more porous than your natural hair. They grab onto minerals in water, environmental pollutants, and product buildup differently than untreated hair does. This is why highlights often shift towards unwanted tones or lose their vibrancy faster than you’d like.
1. Temperature Control Is Non-Negotiable
Your styling tools are likely sabotaging your colour without you realising it. High heat opens up the hair cuticle, which means your carefully crafted colour molecules escape more easily. Turn your straightener or curling iron down to 160°C maximum for highlighted hair. Yes, it might take an extra pass to achieve your desired style, but you’ll add weeks to your colour’s lifespan.
Air-drying whenever possible gives highlighted hair a break from thermal stress. When you must use heat, apply a thermal protectant to damp hair first. Think of it as sunscreen for your highlights—it creates a barrier between the heat source and your vulnerable colour molecules.
2. Purple Shampoo: Your New Best Mate
If you’ve invested in blonde or ash-toned hair highlights in Singapore, purple shampoo isn’t optional. It’s essential. This toning product deposits violet pigments that neutralise the yellow and orange tones that naturally develop in lightened hair over time.
Use it once or twice weekly, leaving it on for three to five minutes. Don’t overdo it—too much purple shampoo can leave your highlights looking grey or muddy. The goal is subtle correction, not a dramatic colour shift. Apply it to wet hair in the shower, work it through the highlighted sections specifically, then rinse thoroughly with cool water to seal the cuticle.
3. Hydration Keeps Colour Locked In
Dry hair is porous hair, and porous hair loses colour rapidly. Your highlighted sections need consistent moisture to maintain their integrity and colour vibrancy. A weekly deep conditioning treatment isn’t indulgent—it’s maintenance. Look for treatments specifically formulated for colour-treated hair, as these contain ingredients that help seal colour molecules inside the hair shaft whilst providing hydration.
Between deep treatments, use a leave-in conditioner on your mid-lengths and ends daily. This creates a protective coating that helps repel environmental stressors whilst keeping your hair supple. When your highlights feel smooth and hydrated, they reflect light better, which makes the colour appear more vibrant and dimensional.
4. Shield Your Hair From Environmental Aggressors
Singapore’s tropical climate presents unique challenges for maintaining hair highlights. The intense UV radiation doesn’t just affect your skin—it oxidises hair colour and breaks down the proteins in your hair shaft. Wear a hat when you’re out during peak sun hours, or use a UV-protectant hair spray before heading outside.
Chlorine and saltwater are particularly harsh on highlighted hair. Before swimming, wet your hair with clean water and apply a generous amount of conditioner. This prevents your porous highlighted sections from absorbing pool or ocean water. After swimming, rinse immediately and follow with a clarifying shampoo to remove any chemical or mineral buildup.
5. Strategic Root Management
As your natural hair grows, the contrast between your roots and highlights becomes more apparent. Rather than booking a full highlight appointment every time you notice regrowth, consider strategic root touch-ups. Many professionals at a hair salon in Singapore offer root-only services that address new growth without overlapping onto previously highlighted hair.
This approach minimises damage because you’re not repeatedly lighting the same sections. It also extends the time between full highlight sessions, which is better for both your hair’s health and your wallet. Aim for root touch-ups every six to eight weeks, with full highlight refreshes every three to four months.
Conclusion
Maintaining well-defined highlights between salon visits depends on consistent protection, proper hydration, and deliberate care. Managing heat exposure, maintaining regular toning, and shielding hair from environmental stressors help preserve colour clarity and prevent premature fading. With the right routine in place, highlights remain intentional, fresh, and professionally finished for longer.
Contact Picasso Hair Studio, your trusted hair salon in Singapore, where expert colourists create customised highlight placements and provide personalised aftercare advice.
